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Fun fact of the day: Saint Xavier University has more commuter students than people who live on campus.

And by more, I mean A LOT more. The ratio between these two types of people on campus is probably around 70-80 % commuter and 20-30% resident. Which is an extremely big difference for any university, private or public.

Whether this piece of information is a good or bad thing, I can’t tell ya. But what I can say is that I think there are a good amount of pros and cons with being a commuter. I myself commuted for my first two years at SXU before becoming an RA this year and living in Regina Hall. Which is why I wanted to do a blog on commuting! Whether you are a prospective student looking into Saint Xavier for college, or are already taking classes here….this blog is for you. I’m going to tell you about the good, the bad, and the ugly (and boy, there is some ugly) of being a commuter student at Saint Xavier University.

Because I am feeling really positive today, let’s start with the good:

It saves money.

Living off campus while attending this university saves you about $10,000 a year. That extra ten grand you will be saving can help you pay off some of the student loans you’ll be taking out for tuition costs.

No homesickness.

No explanation needed!

The food is wayyyyyy better.

I’m not going to get into my annoyance with the food service here on campus because that will take up too much precious space in my blog. But let me just say that home cooked meals > diner food. ALWAYS.

Less distractions.

Studying is easier to do away from school, there is more peace and quiet, and you can focus in on the things that are most important without getting sidetracked. If you have a short attention span, commuting is your best bet.

And now onto the bad and the ugly:

Parking sucks.

Parking is truly ugly here at SXU. I’ve heard horror stories of people having to drive around for thirty minutes for a spot. Ain’t nobody got time for that. Living on campus means that you literally have a two minute walk from your “house” to your classroom. A pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

Less freedom.

This specifically deals with people who commute from home. Since you will still be living with your parents, a lot of their rules will still apply to you. Curfew still needs to to be followed. Chores need to be done. Your parents can pressure you into telling them your grades. Living on campus eliminates all of that. But you should probably still clean your room and get good grades…..

Gas Prices and Public Transportation.

Driving every day will be pretty costly. Unless your parents rock and pay for your gas! Which they probably won’t. Plus, public transportation becomes a pain in the butt once the first snow hits.

Not getting the full college experience.

I experienced this first hand for two years. As involved as I could be while commuting, I couldn’t do as much as I wanted to without living on campus. It’s so easy to go home right after class instead of staying after and participating in different clubs and organizations. And it’s hard to see all of your resident friends hanging out and having fun without you when you have to go home.

All in all, choosing to either commute or live on campus is your choice! There are some good and bad things about each choice, but I always prefer to look on the bright side about things. Both commuting AND residing on campus gives SXU students the best education possible…because let’s be honest here, it’s the grades that count. Right?

All my life I could never go on a real Spring Break because of sports. Once I started attending college, I couldn’t go because I didn’t have enough money saved up due to car payments, insurance, credit bills, school loans, etc. Now that I am a Junior in college, working 3 jobs, and am 21 years old I finally made it out on a Spring Break! I started setting aside a little money from each pay check for bills, necessities, and fun. It payed off because when this opportunity came along, I didn’t have to pass it up!

A little bit of Broadway!

Where did we go? NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE! Yee Haww

It all started with a little country love. Most people correlate Spring Break with the Panama City Beach or South Padre Island. Not us! Our Paradise was right on the strip of Broadway in Nashville, Tennessee!

13 of us made the plans to get together and we jumped on a Mega Bus (cheap tickets) to Nashville on the first Friday of Spring Break. The bus ride was 10 hours! The bus rode from Chicago, through Indianapolis and Louisville, then finally into Nashville. The long ride just made us more excited to finally get there so we could finally enjoy what we had been waiting for.

Some of the group on the River Front

Once we got into our hotel, we were ready to get out on the town! Every night, we went to bed late, every morning we woke up early, spent a lot of money, and made a ton of memories with our friends. We did everything from karaoke, to hot tubing, to cuddling 4 to a full sized bed. We really enjoyed the FREE continental breakfast every morning and FREE Happy Hour every late afternoon. The weather was real nice, too! On day one as we walked the strip, we had to stop in every store, bar, and facility we passed. One of my favorite parts of Nashville was that there was live music all day every day! We got to the strip and started shopping as early as 10:00a and some of the live bands were already in the middle of their first set! We were even allowed to get up on stage to sing with some of the bands! We took every change and didn’t pass up an opportunity. The walk from the River Front to our hotel was just over 2 miles. Perfect to get some exercise in on the break, as well! We did too much dancing, just enough eating, and not enough sleeping. Our 10 hour bus ride home was really quite because we all slept most of the way.

Janine is one of my best friends! I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my Spring Break with anyone else!

My Grandparents live about 2 hours from Nashville, so they drove to come see me and my friends. They took one of my best friends and I out to lunch, they showed us around the city, and drove around the Opry. Just the hotel of the Opry was amazing in itself. It was great to be able to find time for each other since that part of my family only congregates about once a year. For lunch we went to Dick’s Last Resort- please take my advice and NEVER take your grandparents to a place like Dick’s. I’m fortunate enough that they found the place humorous, but I was a bit uneasy when we sat down! All-in-all our visit went very well.

On the last day of our trip, I was more than ready to come home to my dorm. I was getting tired of living out of my duffel bag. Now that I am home, I am more than ready to go back! I am already searching for great spots to visit in the future. We have to go everywhere at least once! And if we didn’t enjoy it, maybe give it another chance! I am very fortunate and satisfied in all of my heard work that allowed me to take the time off of work and reality to go on a vacation with my friends. I can’t wait to go somewhere new.

My very first Spring Break was a success. I can promise, I will be back! So, Watch Out Nashville!